Tel Aviv, MINA – A Knesset committee on Tuesday approved a draft law that would allow Israelis to purchase property in the occupied West Bank, marking a significant move toward deepening Israel’s de facto annexation of the territory.
The bill was introduced by MK Yuli Edelstein of the Likud Party, Likud MK Limor Son Har-Melech of the Otzma Yehudit Party, and Moshe Solon of the Religious Zionism Party. According to the Knesset press office, the proposal passed the committee with four members voting in favor and none opposing. It remains unclear how many committee members were present during the vote.
Under Knesset rules, bills can advance with a majority of votes from members in attendance regardless of overall participation. The press office did not provide a date for when the bill will receive its first reading before the full Knesset plenum. Israeli legislation requires three readings for a bill to become law.
The proposed law seeks to отмен control the Jordanian law still applicable in the West Bank that restricts the leasing and sale of property to foreigners. The Jordanian regulation, enacted in 1953, was originally intended to prevent non-Arabs from acquiring real estate in the territory. The new bill would allow “any person to purchase real estate,” effectively opening the door for expanded Israeli settlement activity.
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There has been no immediate reaction from the Palestinian Authority or the Jordanian government.
Israel was founded in 1948 on Palestinian land after Zionist militias expelled hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from their homes. Jordan administered the West Bank beginning in 1950 until Israel occupied the territory following the 1967 war. In 1988, King Hussein formally disengaged from the West Bank while retaining custodianship over Islamic and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem.
Since Israel launched its war on Gaza two years ago, it has escalated actions in the West Bank, including settlement expansion and the displacement of Palestinian communities. Observers say the new bill aligns with Israel’s broader efforts to create irreversible facts on the ground and undermine prospects for a two-state solution as outlined in various UN resolutions.
The Israeli anti-settlement group Peace Now estimates that approximately 500,000 Israeli settlers currently live in illegal settlements across the occupied West Bank. In a landmark advisory opinion issued in July 2024, the International Court of Justice declared Israel’s occupation unlawful and urged the removal of all settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.[]
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Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)
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